Let It Burn
by FairyTale87
Summary: What if Palpatine had sent Anakin to Tatooine instead of Mustafar? And if he had defeated Obi-Wan? Fifteen years later and Emperor, Anakin must face his dark past for the sake of Luke, Leia, and Padme . AU post RotS. P/A.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas's imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Please Note:_ I am not very knowledgeable about the exact details of the SW world. That being the case, I will be rearranging some bits and pieces and adding some of my own flares. So please no flames about this story not following cannon exactly.

_A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…_

The Sith have won. The Jedi Order has been extinguished along with the Republic- the title Galactic Empire now reigning supreme. A new Emperor has also found himself on the throne: Lord Vader. Low rumbling and expanding chaos fills the galaxy, and the future of this brave new world is very unclear- even to its leader. Talk of the Order reawakening has swirled around the Empire, but every word has been extinguished before it can become a reality. Civil unrest is abundant, and threats of war have surfaced; but the fear of the Emperor holds these threats to simply words. For now, the galaxy is at an uneasy peace…

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><p><em>Let It Burn, Chapter 1<em>

"Again," Anakin instructed coldly to his son. Luke tried to hold in the whimper he knew was swelling in his throat. Breathing in shakily, the fifteen year old closed his eyes and held out his hand once more. He could feel the electricity pulsing through his veins and the pounding that kept a steady beat in his hand; but still, no outcome was there. Luke's hand began to shake as he tried with all his might to conjure all the hatred within him and form that energy into the power of the chokehold, but he could not feel the fire of success. Opening his eyes, he saw that the poor soldier ordered to play dummy was not gasping for air. Luke let his arm sink once more to his side with the weight of defeat. He could feel his father's icy glare looming over him, and he tried to shake it. Luke knew his father was not well acquainted with failure, and his son's inability to perform the trademark Sith power was no exception.

"I- I can't, Father," Luke mumbled shakily, as he turned to face the hardened Lord Vader.

"'Can't' belongs nowhere in your vocabulary," Anakin replied stiffly, his face showing no emotion. There was no frown, not a streak of disappointment; just vacancy.

"I have tried hard, Father. I have not given up yet. But this," he looked down to his hand, flexing it, "is not something I am capable of." Luke shook his head, his heart dying slowly. He wanted no more than to make his father smile; make him proud. But Luke was wired differently. Animosity and hatred did not easily flow through him. He was not tempted by the seduction of darkness. He had tried for years to rewire himself to fit what he believed his father wanted from him, but he had always fallen short.

"Apparently not," Anakin drawled in return, his blue eyes flashing with a sudden bleakness. "I expected more from you- and you should expect much more for yourself. Quitting now causes weak habits to form. If you wish to be weak, you are on the right path." Lord Vader turned on his heel and began to walk out of the Training Room, when he was stopped by his son.

"Wait! I will do this." Luke wasn't sure what exactly had possessed him to frantically call out to his father, but there was no way to take the words back now. He turned to face the again terrified soldier, and closed his eyes, holding out his hand. This time, instead of thinking of the hate, his mother came to mind.

"_You're a brave little boy," Padme` told her son as she brushed the sandy brown hair from his blue eyes. "You are just like your father before-" she stopped and sighed. "Know that I love you very much and that if you ever find yourself alone, I'm always right here." She put a soft finger to her son's heart. _

Luke opened his eyes in a flash, tears streaming down his face. Much to his shock and dismay, the soldier was clutching his throat and turning dangerously red. Luke's eyes slowly moved over to stare at his hand. The dark Force was emitting from his hand as easily as the light, and he was shaken.

"Marvelous, my son," Anakin told his child with a smile. Though the smile was jaded with years of pain and hate and Vader's muscles were not accustomed to doing anything but a smirk or sneer, the sheer reaction from him was enough for Luke. The son dropped his hand with a sense of dignity and allowed the soldier to catch his breath. He wished he could go over and apologize; thank him for being such an obedient warrior. But the consequences were worse than death. Luke finally found himself in his father's good graces, and he was not about to ruin his dream, even if it meant for a moment he had to be inconsiderate. Luke observed as Anakin sent the shuddering soldier away with a harsh, quick flick of the hand. It still amazed the boy how his father's mere presence was enough to shock fear into even the bravest of men.

"What caused the sudden change?" Anakin's pleasant voice was odd to his son's ears. There was no hovering discontent; no heart-shattering blame, anger, or disappointment. All that swayed with Anakin's voice was the blitheness of pride and love. Luke took his father's sudden kindness as a permit to the truth.

"Well, it wasn't the darkness," Luke began softly, hoping that Vader's disposition would not have a sudden explosion. "I thought of – I thought of my mother." Luke dropped his father's gaze, the bland white floor suddenly appearing like a masterpiece.

"Cursing the darkness only delays the dream," Anakin returned just as softly. He longed to hug his son; tell him that everything was alright. The Anakin Skywalker that moaned deep within him rumbled and cried for a voice, but the dead Palpatine's grasp over Vader was still winning the battle. His well trained features displayed no emotion, but inside he was screaming. It had been too long since the mention of his beloved wife had reached his ears. He still remembered the fateful night perfectly: Padme`'s deep brown hair braided in the most elegant simplicity; the tan outfit accentuating her dark features and sun kissed skin like a painting. The Tatooine moon that shone brightly on his wife after three long years had given him a pang of bitter bliss that surged through him unlike any electricity the Force could ever provide. The last thing Anakin Skywalker ever saw before falling from grace was the face of an angel.

"What do you mean, Father?" Luke's voice was timid. He had no intention of angering his father, but he thought it was about time the two had a relationship beyond the oppressor and the fearful.

"There is nothing that is pure, Luke; even the Force," Anakin paused, "especially the Force. In darkness there can be dreams and in the light there can be nightmares. To look at the Light and Dark sides as two separate things is to allow naivety to overtake you."

Luke nodded in return, trying to sift through all of his father's words for some truth; something, anything that would shed light on who his father truly was. Though he had lived with the man all of his life, Luke still knew little. He wanted so much to understand his father and his past, but there was no one there to tell him.

"My Lord," a guard said from his place behind the threshold, "General Vaison is in the War Room." The man gave a small bow and quickly vanished from view. Anakin returned his attention to Luke. Closing the distance between them, he grasped his son's shoulder lightly then continued off past him. Luke shivered as Vader's dark cloak brushed over his arm, and his fingers tingled. The teenager found himself alone, yet he could not move. Curiosity was swarming around him, suffocating any sanity that was roaming in his mind. There must be someone he could speak with- someone with answers. Luke's brain traveled over every nook and cranny of the palace, until he landed on the secluded prison of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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><p>"Luke," Obi-Wan greeted in surprise as the young Skywalker entered the cell. White walls surrounded the two of them, and Luke could feel the Force being choked out of him. Luke felt dizzy as he sat down on the floor next to his father's former master. It had been almost six months since the last time he had seen Kenobi, yet the man had not changed at all. Luke's body seemed heavy; as he participated in a sin he knew his father would burn him for if he ever discovered his son's whereabouts. As the younger man looked at Obi-Wan, he felt a swell of warm sickness come over his stomach- it all seemed too tragic.<p>

"Master Kenobi," Luke said bowing his head subtly.

"My dear boy, call me Obi-Wan. I lost the title of 'Master' the moment I entered this cell. And an heir to an empire has no need to bow to a poor prisoner." Obi-Wan gave a small smile, and Luke couldn't help but give a little gesture in return. "I sense you came to talk to me about something specific?"

"Ma- Obi-Wan, I want to know about my father." As the former master stared at the teenager, it was quite easy for him to picture the boy as Anakin. Not only in looks, but in their determination; their curiosity that cannot be cured; and their willingness to do whatever it takes to find the truth. Obi-Wan sighed- the boy truly was his father's son.

"I should have expected this question," Obi-Wan replied with melancholy.

"I must know. I am at an age where I am becoming my own man. Before I can define myself though, I must know the man who has raised me. Please, Master Kenobi. I know the topic is not one you wish to speak of, but the truth cannot die with you." Luke gave Obi-Wan an expectant look.

"You have a right to know the story, and I have an obligation to tell it. But, for the story to actually help you in your journey, you must first understand your father overall." Obi-Wan gave a small nod, trying to push the crying emotions of pains past away from his current thoughts.

"Alright," Luke returned, trying to keep the blandness out of his voice. He didn't know if it was out of fear, but he waited in intensity for Kenobi to reveal his father's full and true personality.

"Anakin is a complicated man. His past is scattered with events that have shaped who he has become. Being a slave set free, Anakin always felt he had to prove something- he had to justify why he was unchained. That belief system carried over into everything he ever did. Your father had an instinctual desire to please; whether it was me, the Jedi Council, or even himself. Every day I wonder what would have been if Anakin had not chosen the path of a Jedi. He was a vibrant man. Full of passion, determination… but he also possessed the trait every human has; the trait of conflict: whether to please others or yourself; if you choose a path of selfishness or selflessness. The Jedi are trained to let this trait go. In the earliest of teachings, the padawan is taught that the Jedi are selfless and the Sith are selfish. Your father though, however hard he tried, could not fully apply that concept to himself. He wanted the pleasure of both; like most humans do."

"But that one issue could not have caused him to become a tyrant," Luke said as Obi-Wan paused for breath.

"No, it certainly did not. But Luke, being bitter towards your father will not change anything. Acceptance is the first key to understanding anything. Though the issue and reasons may seem black and white, there is always gray. Nothing is pure."

"That is exactly what my father told me earlier today," Luke said with astounded eyes. It had taken him until this moment to realize just how much of an affect Obi-Wan Kenobi had over his father.

"Anakin is very smart," Kenobi replied simply. He had tried for many years to hate Lord Vader, but his heart would not allow him to. Anakin had been his brother; his son; his best friend. A man woven that deeply into the soul cannot easily be stripped from it. He still saw the flashes of good in Anakin; the streaks of joy, and the pulses of love. There was a hope for Anakin and his future that lied somewhere between father and son. Luke had the power to affect his father greatly.

"If he was so smart, then why would he defy all that he's ever known for something he had been told time and again was evil?" Luke wanted to accept him; just as he wished to be accepted by his father, but there was some untraceable barrier keeping him from doing so.

"Darkness has always been in Anakin. It is not his fault, but it is what his environment provided for him as a child. I know this is ludicrous to you, but it is the truth. I knew Anakin before the darkness was dominant. At one bright time in the past, I was his confidant and he came to me for everything. I remember nights we would stay up past protocol just to sit and talk. He would tell me every thought that weaved through his mind, and I would try my best to ease the tense and confused strands. But then, your father fell in love with your mother, and he shut me out." Obi-Wan's heart burned and he felt himself on the verge of tears- a point he hadn't found himself in for many years. Running a hand through his hair, Luke noticed the strands of gray that were slowly making a home on Kenobi's head.

"I wish I knew him then," Luke whispered. "There are moments when I think that he will hug me; ruffle my hair like my mother used to do. I can see there is a part of him that wants to be a kind and caring father, but it always gets extinguished before it can become a physical reality. I miss my father, and I haven't even truly met him. How is that possible?" Luke shook his head in desperation.

"Those are your feelings, my dear boy. As much as we try to change them, we very rarely succeed. I wish I could say that your relationship with Anakin will change, but I cannot promise you such things. What I can tell you though, is do not give up on him."

"I promise I won't," Luke vowed sincerely, "but can I know the story of the day of my birth? I've accumulated all I can from my father."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Your father was sent to Tatooine, his home planet, by Darth Sidious. I and your mother followed him there hoping to change his mind and bring him back to us. Anakin being the stubborn man he is would not listen, and any hope of having him returned to your mother and I was lost. It kills me every time my mind wanders to this, but I had to engage your father in battle." Luke's eyes widened as Kenobi recalled the events of that fateful night. "The fight was well balanced, and it was in that moment that I realized that the Light and Dark Forces were equal. Well, the battle raged on and I finally fell to him. To this day, I do not know what made me lay down my lightsaber, but that is how the story goes. Anakin held his saber to me, but could not finish the deed. He rather took me as prisoner. Dragging me back to the ship with him, your mother had gone into labor. Momentarily animosity was put aside, and at the nearest hospital you and Leia were born. Your father and mother agreed that debates over who would receive custody would be a tiring waste, Padme` took Leia and your father took you. And if my dates are still intact, the annual visit from your sister is coming up next week."

"Yes," Luke said shakily, "it is." He was numb. No feeling could penetrate his wall of ache. It pained Luke to even imagine a world where his father and mother were married; where he and Leia saw each other more than once a year, and a world where his father expressed his love for his son. "I wish my father had never been a Jedi," Luke mumbled.

"I wish that to be too. But as reality stands, it is only a dream. But even though the past cannot be changed, the future is still being written. Never forget that, Luke Skywalker." Obi-Wan gave a smile to the younger boy, and Luke returned a weak twitch of the lips.

"Thank you, Master Kenobi."

"Please, do not wait months before you see me again." Kenobi clasped Luke's shoulder. Luke's mind flashed to earlier when his father had done a similar gesture, and he felt his body shiver.

"My father, though," Luke replied uneasily.

"If Anakin would have wanted to keep you away from me, he would not allow you such easy access to my cell. Again why I say the gray in life is far more important than the black or white. The gray is the reason why Anakin taught you both the Light and Dark sides of the Force. Why he allows you down into my solitary confinement."

"Obi-Wan, why does Anakin keep you here? In the palace?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"He said so I could see my failures every waking moment. This palace and empire was built off my collapse with Anakin, and he does not want either of us to forget. But, if you ask me, I think he likes the comfort of knowing someone in these lonely halls understands who he truly is. But then again, that is only an old man's wishful thinking." Kenobi's eyes were glistening with sadness as he stared at the younger Skywalker. He prayed that Luke would bring out the good in Anakin, and that Anakin would bring out the pent up strength and passion hiding deep within Luke.

"Again, I thank you Master Kenobi." Luke bowed his head and the rose from his seat on the floor to exit the cell.

"Until next time, my dear boy," Obi-Wan said with a certain warmth as Luke left the cell.

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><p>Alright, so I'm not sure if I am going to continue this. It depends on what kind of feedback I receive. But, I do continue, I will reveal more parts of the plot. But, the main focus will be on the relationship between Anakin and Luke, and also theirs with Padme` and Leia. Also, please feel free to tell me if something is really off with my depiction of the Star Wars world.<p>

_Be good and review! _


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas's imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Let It Burn, Chapter 2_

Leia sighed, lifting her eyes up to the kind Naboo sky. Its soft hues of lilac and pink that swayed with the calm wind were a forgiving wonderland for her racing thoughts. Here, on the plush Naboo grass, Leia was home; but only in body. Her spirit roamed without a destination or a home base, and Leia found herself vacant because of it. Life was not supposed to be this winding, and most days were not meant to be spent down alleyways foreign to the heart. With every breath she inhaled, Leia knew there was more to life; _her _life. She had been born in the shadow of the dawn of the Empire, and every year she grew older Leia knew the Empire was growing with her. She felt herself chained to the weighty truth, and there was nothing to alleviate her pain. These thoughts that flew through her mind like daggers usually stayed dormant in some corner, allowing Leia to go about her days without many hindering disruptions. But today, her birthday was on her mind. Three more days, and she would be sixteen; along with Luke, and the Empire, and the commemoration of the last day Anakin Skywalker was truly alive. Leia's body grew cold as the thought of her father entered her mind.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" Padme` asked as she walked over to her daughter. Leia remained still, too preoccupied to acknowledge her mother's presence. Inhaling deeply, Padme` took a seat next to her daughter. As she watched Leia, Padme` knew her daughter's heart was heavy with some issue. Running her hand through her daughter's thick hair she asked, "what's wrong, Leia?" At these words, Leia finally turned her head to face Padme`. It was quite eerie having her mother around when thoughts of her father plagued her mind.

"I'm just thinking," Leia said distantly. She had never been fond of or talented at conveying her emotions to others. Leia still could not define what had made her this way, but it was a habit she could not break.

"About?" Padme` raised an eyebrow letting her daughter's hair drop onto her back once more.

"It's nothing, really," Leia responded with a shrug. Her whirling head did not care how much her mother pestered her. All her mind could do was count down. Count down the days, hours, minutes until she would have to face her father and brother.

"You know you can tell me anything. Please do not shut me out; I'm here for you always, Leia," Padme` returned. She could recall countless times where she had had very similar conversations with Anakin, and her failure to penetrate his walls had led her to the present. A present where she hadn't seen her son in a year and a half, and had to battle the demons that her daughter kept locked deep inside. As Padme` pondered on her reality, it occurred to her how forcefully she had pushed Anakin from her thoughts. She had somehow learned to silence the constant scream that had pulsed in her veins and had left her motionless. Somehow, Anakin became a memory only in her dreams.

"I know I can tell you anything, Mom," Leia said with a smile. Her mother always had a way of putting Leia's wavering emotions at a peace not even a total state of ecstasy could provide. Her mind and body relaxed, and she continued, "I was thinking about my birthday."

"Your birthday," Padme` stated with a bitter melancholy. Padme` had been there for two births and a death on that day, and Leia knew her mother was still in mourning. On that night, everything Padme` had ever known died, replaced with a birth of a future she was unsure of. There was no easy way for her to express exactly what panged her heart first at the thought of her children's birthday, but Padme` knew better than to try and find the answer.

"Mom," Leia said quietly, "I don't want to go to Coruscant." She began to twirl a piece of white cloth on her dress.

"You love to see Luke," Padme` responded, unsure of how else to reply. In all honesty, Padme` had no desire for her daughter to visit Coruscant, and possibly even despised the idea more than her daughter.

"Yes, but I cannot say the same about Father. His mood is always so unstable, and with all of these new threats of civil war, I do not even want to imagine the horribly kept state of his mercy. I am turning sixteen, Mom- I'm becoming my own person. Which means Father will try all the more to convince me to learn the Force." From a young age, Leia had been told by her mother that all the Force could bring was agony. It made no difference whether it was the Light or Dark side; the two had bled together in Padme`'s eyes anyway. So, for years Leia had denied her father's request to learn the ways of the Force, but she could sense Anakin's flexibility would be greatly limited this year.

"And what will your response be when he asks you?" Padme` looked at her daughter expectantly hoping that the bold answer of no still rolled off her daughter's tongue.

"What do you want my answer to be, Mom?"

Padme` sighed. "As you said: you're growing up, and you have to make your own choices. What do _you _want your answer to be?"

Leia pondered the question. There was no doubt that the Force had always seemed magical and somehow religious to her, but that did not blind her from the affects the Force had on her family. In the matter of the Force, the bad outweighed the good. "My answer will still be no. It is not worth the pain. If he asks me to advise him on politics, I will obey as a good daughter should; but as for the Force, I will never budge."

"_That's my girl," _Padme` wanted to say. But as much as she denied it, she did not want her daughter, or son, to take sides. Anakin provided elements to the children she never could, and vice versa. She quietly imagined what life might have been like if she and Anakin were not separated, but blackness soon overtook the image. Although in law she was still married to Anakin Skywalker, Padme` would never call herself the wife of Lord Vader. "I am glad you have begun to solidify your beliefs, but do not shut down just yet. You must be willing to experience things you have always banished if you ever truly wish to live."

Leia nodded in return. She knew her mother was right; the Force hadn't done any serious damage to Luke (yet) so maybe it was not as awful as she had believed up to this point. "You know something, Mom; you're very good at giving advice." She paused to conjure up a way to display her point persuasively. "But, I think it is about time you listen to some of your own words. You said to experience things that we banish… so, come with me to see Father and Luke."

"G- Go to Coruscant," Padme` said numbly. Every fragmented emotion that had cut her those sixteen years ago came rushing back and she felt as if she was thrown onto Tatooine once more. Begging, pleading, and praying.

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><p>"<em>Don't do this, Anakin," she pleaded frantically, "please. This isn't you." The dust swirled with the wind, suffocating her as the tears streamed endlessly down her face. <em>

"_Yes, it is. It has always been me- I've just been blinded from it." The cold anger would not cease its icy blaze in his blue eyes, and the once kind Anakin had perished. "Come with me." A small smile flashed across his face, but Padme` could detect the slight smirk that loomed under the surface. _

"_You're going down a path I cannot follow, Anakin. Your sense of truth is so tainted; I don't know who you are anymore." Padme` shook her head recklessly, hoping that at some point the horrible dream would be shaken away; but her wish was never granted. The longer she stood there, the more solidified the reality became. _

"_You do know me, Padme`. I promise you that you do." Anakin sounded like the tortured padawn that had promised her he'd be the most powerful Jedi there has ever been. The same scarred heart was pounding furiously in his chest, and that fiery passion was flashing dangerously in his eyes. Anakin was more deadly than a lightsaber when he set the darker half of his mind on something._

"_How can you say that?" Padme` backed away slightly from her husband, her stare becoming more timid and frightened. "You promised me a life, Anakin. A family; a future. You cannot promise me that you have not changed." _

"_All I've ever promised you is love, and I have not broken that." Padme` shivered slightly at his words. How did he consider this love? Lies, darkness, delusions- these were not qualities of love. _

"_No, Anakin, you have broken that promise. You broke it the moment you chose darkness over me," she put a hand to her stomach, "over your child." _

"_I did this for you and the baby, Padme`! Do you not understand that?" _

"_If you think this is your way of helping us, then you are sadly misguided. If you truly want to help us, come back to me. We can go somewhere far way; raise our child. Live the life we've dreamed of." She took a cautious step to her husband, lifting her hands slowly to run her fingers through his hair. She would not lose him; she couldn't. Padme` wished that Anakin hadn't made her so desperately in love, but she knew that wish would never escape the dream world. _

"_No." Anakin's eyes iced over completely and anything that was left of her husband was gone. As Padme` stared at the man in front of her, she knew he presence was only a cruel joke. His appearance taunted her with what could have been, and his new black heart tortured her with what had become._

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><p>"I can't go, Leia," Padme` finally whispered to her daughter. She had never displayed herself as a vulnerable person, so Leia's eyes shot up in shock at her mother's response.<p>

"Mom, please. Luke misses you. Every time I go to visit, I see his eyes wandering around to find you; but you're never there. Mom, come and bring some light back to Coruscant and Father. You can't avoid them forever."

Leia had a point- a very valid one at that. Padme` could not continue to run away from the past that has always haunted her. Running has never worked, so maybe facing her demons was the better option. It had taken her sixteen years to actually accept this, and she sighed at the thought. If she went with Leia, she would get to see her Luke: her wonderful baby boy. But with seeing Luke, she would also be forced to see his father. Those blue eyes she thought she had become calloused to would probably reopen the old wounds and his smile would pour another ounce of salt on the newfound cuts. Padme` was stronger than fear and defeat, though, and she knew her daughter sincerely wanted her company on the trip both of them uneasily looked forward to.

"Alright sweetheart, I will come with you." A grim line formed on Padme`'s face as she voiced her decision, but the brightness that flooded Leia's eyes quickly compensated for her hurt. She put a smile on her aching face as her body buzzed with the coming numbness the fear of seeing Anakin again brought. It had been too long since she had seen her husband, and she was utterly unsure of what she would find waiting behind the epic doors of the palace in Coruscant. Padme` wondered how Anakin had changed; and how he had changed their son. Her mind swirled frantically with every possibility, and her brain was becoming over stimulated with emotion. She was unsure if she should laugh or cry. One thing for certain, Anakin hadn't lost his touch in bringing out the insane in Padme`. As she smirked at the thought, she remembered- she hadn't even seen the man yet, and he had already made her crazier.

"Oh, Mommy, thank you! I promise you won't regret coming!" Leia enveloped her mother in a suffocating hug, but Padme` merely smiled. To see her daughter blithe and happy was worth the internal struggle that pulled and tugged at her very soul. Soon, three days to be exact, the long awaited reunion of father, mother, son, and daughter would take place. Padme` stiffened in anticipation.

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><p>Alright, so I apologize for chapter two being so short. I included this to give some more background and to show you where Padme` and Leia are, since one of my reviewers asked. As for future chapters, they will definitely be longer; promise. I also wanted to thank the people who have reviewed, subscribed, and added this story to their favorites- it means so much to me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to PM me with any ideas you many have, by the way.<p>

_Be good and review! _


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas's imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Please Note: _In this chapter, and in future ones, I will be adding some different sort of elements to the Force; so if it is not exactly how Lucas had described it, please do not flame me. Haha, thank you!

_Let It Burn, Chapter 3_

Luke stared blandly at the chaos of the bustling city Coruscant that was displayed through the large window of the War Room. Ships whizzed by with a certain freedom only a pilot could experience. How he longed to touch the controls, observe the world from thousands of miles above it- to throw caution to the wind that had pushed and shoved him for so long. But his father had never been willing to teach him. The talent of flying was forever a mystery to Luke, and he knew his father would never change his decision. Sighing subtly, he returned his attention to the meeting he had been requested to attend. His eyes wandering to his father, Luke wondered how Anakin could stand these meetings. Grimy politicians clawed at one another to try and get a hand on the Emperor's good graces, at the price of sanity, morality, even life. Luke hated them; every one of them. They were lawyers of a dirty practice, and lies were their specialty; duping the public into thinking their intentions were just, and their propositions held more than just personal gain. Luke tried to hold back a sneer, just as his father addressed him.

"Luke," his father's voice cut like a knife into his deep thoughts, and he turned his head with a jolt to face Anakin.

"Yes, Father?" Luke breathed deeply, calming himself into the one dimensional human being he succumbed himself to at these meetings. Lord Vader had instructed him to be a very silent voice in these summits unless spoken to directly, and Luke had never complained

"Senator Cathaoir asked your opinion about the riots on Tatooine," Lord Vader replied. Luke could sense his father warned him to be careful of his next words, and Luke pondered what his reply would be. He turned his attention to Cathaoir with a sudden distaste. The old man was the dirtiest of politicians in Luke's mind, and the wrinkles that were scattered across Cathaoir's face gave him the deceiving look of a genuinely wise man- which Luke believed very firmly he wasn't.

"Well, although the riots are important, I think what is even more significant is what has caused them. If we figure out that, then our problem can be easier solved." Luke gave a small nod of the head and then returned to his numb silence. He watched as Cathaoir's face contorted and twisted with thought. Luke could sense the politician was hoping for a more- brutal response. One in which the problem would be destroyed rather than properly dealt with. The young Skywalker wondered why his father even kept these senators around; in every other aspect of life and government, Vader preferred total control.

"Hm," Cathaoir replied blandly, "I see. My Lord, I propose we send the Troopers to deal with the problem as they see fit. That way, we can spend more energy on the much larger problem."

"What larger problem?" Vader replied harshly with a sharp raise of the brow. This was the only scenario in which Luke actually enjoyed his father's animosity.

Cathaoir cleared his throat to compose his wavering nerves. "The nearby galaxy of Ceallach is threatening war. They believe that we have the resources they desire to sustain their dying population." Cathaoir pursed his lips in what appeared to be in distaste of the situation, but Luke knew that the politician could not have loved the current state of things more. Cathaoir was well aware that Vader focused only on battle when the situation presented itself and left the running of the galaxy to the senators- a perfect situation for Cathaoir who was theoretically the leader of the senate.

"Is this threat legitimate, Cathaoir?" Vader tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair. As much as his pent up adrenaline begged him for a fight, this threat did not sit well with Anakin.

"I would say it is legitimate enough to wage war, my Lord," Cathaoir replied oily. _Of course Cathaoir would say that it was a valid concern of the Empire_, Luke thought to himself and shifted in his seat next to his father.

"How does the rest of the senate vote," Vader asked dryly. The other politicians slowly looked at each other with no idea of how to reply. They were going up against the two most powerful men in the galaxy: Lord Vader and Senator Cathaoir. Their choices were never easy.

"If I may," Luke interrupted. His father turned slowly to look at him, and Vader glared. Luke ignored the menacing stare and continued, "I do not think that this threat from Ceallach is our biggest concern. How do we even expect to go to war if our internal affairs are a fiery mess? A civil war is much more probable than a war with Ceallach." A hovering shadow of truth came over the group. Every man and woman that sat in the room knew Luke was right; turmoil had been building in the Galactic Empire since Palpatine had taken the throne. But now, the reality of the situation was much more intense. Tatooine had been raging with riots and plots of an overthrow for the past year, and the defiance was trickling into other planets as well. Luke wondered what his father had done wrong; why these issues were becoming more severe while Anakin was in power. Although his father had done things Luke certainly was not proud of, overall, Lord Vader was a fine ruler. Basic needs were met, luxuries were attainable, and quality of life hadn't suffered greatly. So what minor error of his father could have sent the Empire into this frenzied mess?

"Heir Luke is right," Senator Aefre said lightly. The beautiful blonde gave an encouraging look to Luke. "Before the Empire can ever hope to expand or gods forbid, wage war, we must first fix the internal issues."

"Perhaps you are right Senator Aefre, but how do you propose we go about fixing these- concerns?" Anakin leaned back in his chair, waiting for the senator to gather her words. As he stared at his senators he wondered how Padme` had ever been able to function while in office. Anakin knew the strife and stresses that these politicians went through to stay in power and he knew how it destroyed them. Allowing his mind to wander even further Anakin soon dropped the comparison. Padme` had been different; she had been a benevolent queen and senator. An exception to the usually untrustworthy official.

"Send a delegate each planet; or at least for now, the most troublesome planets. So that way, we can learn what is causing them to lash out and we can lull their worries and prevent the milder planets from revolting as well." Aefre waited in intensity as she saw her fellow senators and Emperor considering her proposition. She hoped that Luke could be able to influence his father's vote, but she was unsure of Lord Vader's current mood.

"If you can find such delegates, I see no problem in sending them to the planets." Anakin paused, feeling oddly agreeable and mild. Shuddering the thought away, he continued: "The sooner this problem is addressed and solved, the sooner we can give our undivided attention to the issue of Ceallach." All of the senators nodded in reply and Cathaoir flashed a wicked smirk. "Meeting adjourned," Lord Vader added, rising from his seat. Luke rose with him numbly, and the senators bowed to their leader and heir. Turning firmly on his heel, Anakin exited the room, his son following close behind. Walking down the hallway, it occurred to Luke that his sister would be arriving today. His heart fluttered softly at the thought, and he couldn't stop the smile that grew on his face.

"You deliberately disobeyed me," Anakin scolded his son darkly. Giving him a sideways glance, Vader waited for Luke's response.

"Ho- how did I disobey you?" Luke felt his body begin to tingle uncomfortably, and a sudden weight fell on his chest.

"You were not supposed to speak unless directly addressed."

"I am sorry, Father. I only had the Empire's best interest in mind," Luke replied. It almost made him sick to think that he had purposefully protected the Galactic Empire, but apparently he had.

"You're sorry," Vader drawled in return, "how wonderful. Let me try and get this into your head: when we are in the War Room, I am not your father; you are not my son. In there, everything is politics and business. Having the Empire's best interest at heart is not always what is politically correct. Those senators control me as much as I control them." They reached Lord Vader's personal office, and were greeted by the servant Callum.

"My lord," Callum said with a deep bow. The Emperor brushed past the humble servant without so much as a glance, and Luke scurried after his father giving a short greeting to Callum as he passed.

"Callum, escort Luke to the Training Room. There, he is instructed to practice the Dark Side of the Force- make sure he does." It killed Luke whenever his father spoke as if he was not around. Luke's eyes glazed over with a certain feeling he could not quite understand, and watched as his father took a seat behind his desk. Callum merely bowed at his master, taking Luke by the arm and leading him in the direction of the Training Room. As the two men left his presence Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. Clicking the ComLink, a hologram of a soldier appeared.

"Bring the prisoner Kenobi to my office. I want a word with him."

"My lord," the soldier responded with a bow and Anakin turned off the Com.

* * *

><p>"Ah, how wonderful of you to join me," Vader said dryly as the soldier shoved Kenobi into the private office, closing the door behind him.<p>

"What is the meaning of this, Anakin?" Obi-Wan said forcefully. It had been years since Anakin had requested his ex-master's presence and seeing Lord Vader now almost sent Obi-Wan into a state of shock.

"I know Luke has been seeing you this past week," Vader replied sardonically. "What have you been preaching to him, Kenobi?"

"Whatever action Luke has done, I had nothing to do with." Obi-Wan crossed his arms tightly in an attempt to keep his nauseous stomach to a minimum ache.

"That was not the question," Lord Vader returned sharply. He leaned his elbows on his desk, staring at Obi-Wan darkly.

"I have not _preached _anything. Your son came to me for guidance- so I provided it."

"Is that so, my master," Anakin taunted blandly. "Then why has Luke been giving me looks."

"I am not a mind reader, Anakin." Obi-Wan stared at his former padawan sadly. He knew the Anakin Skywalker that lived within Lord Vader pleaded for a voice, and the Lord was so close to giving him one. The mere fact that Anakin had ordered Obi-Wan's presence was reason enough.

"He has been looking at me as you are now. His stare holds a certain knowledge he could have only attained from _you_." Lord Vader rose from his seat, making his way over to Ob-Wan Kenobi. "So I will ask again: what have you been telling him?" Having Anakin this close to him made Obi-Wan shudder. The night of Tatooine came rushing back, and he could not stop his body from swaying.

"Your son turned sixteen today, Anakin; or have you forgotten? He sought me out because he believed he needed answers in order to become his own person. Luke wants no more than for you to accept him. You should know how that must feel."

"Do not test my patience, Obi-Wan." Of course he knew it was his son's birthday. How could he ever forget? The day his children had been born, he had died. A part of him wanted to apologize to Obi-Wan for that night. He had been tempted and seduced by a twisted Sith Lord to turn his back on all he had ever known; on Padme`, on Obi-Wan. What he would give to hug the man once more and call him master. But Palpatine's dead eyes suddenly entered his mind and Lord Vader was once again swayed from what he knew was right.

"Your threats hold no meaning to me."

"Are you certain of that?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. Seeing that Obi-Wan would not take back his words, Lord Vader raised his hand grasping his former master in the chokehold. Thoughts of Padme` and Obi-Wan flooded his mind and his grip on the prisoner became tighter. Luke hadn't the slightest clue how much he was like his father. "So this," the Emperor bit out, "means nothing to you?"

"Anakin," Obi-Wan wheezed as his knees hit the cold floor with a thud. His eyes began to water, but not just with tears from suffocation. As Anakin held him in the dangerous chokehold, he felt as if he was being murdered by his own son. The meaning that was held in this situation was unexplainable yet more powerful than any definition could hope to be. Anakin released his master from the hold, beginning to pace.

"You are never to see Luke again, understood?" Anakin towered over the kneeling Obi-Wan, and the latter couldn't help but comply. "Guard!" A meaty man scurried into the room at the call of his master. "Take the prisoner back to his cell." The soldier bowed, pulling Kenobi to his feet by his cloak and dragging him from the room. Again Anakin found himself alone with his jagged emotions, and stared at the floor. He wanted to cry; to scream; to kill; to laugh- to feel something. Even though he was surrounded, Anakin felt utterly alone; he always had. The only two people that could soften his pain were Obi-Wan and Luke. Seeing as Obi-Wan's presence had done little for him, Anakin began to walk from the office and to the Training Room to find Luke. As he walked, he promised himself he'd be easy on his son. For the moment, he'd let Anakin Skywalker dominate his personality and he would be a father; not a cold Emperor. Entering the training room, he found his son levitating an apple. His son's hands swayed with the Force so blithely and Anakin knew Luke was at home with the Light Side. In all honesty, so was he; Anakin had never liked the Dark Side. At one point he had convinced himself that the dislike of the darkness would fade, but to this day it still hadn't. Anakin walked over to his son, and paused a few steps before he reached him.

"Practicing the basics," Anakin observed as he held out his hand and the apple came into his divided Force. Twirling the fruit absentmindedly he felt like a Jedi Padawan once more. The innocence of the basic Force was comforting to Anakin. He took the few more steps until he was standing next to Luke.

"I am truly sorry for disobeying your orders, Father." Luke lifted his eyes to meet his father's gaze. He wished he could promise it would never happen again, but both he and Anakin knew that was a shallow vow.

Anakin sighed. This was the moment of truth. Would he choose to let Anakin Skywalker truly overpower his emotions, or would his shaky loyalty to Palpatine keep him from doing so? Anakin decided to let emotion be the decider. "I was quite like you when I was young. I would never listen; to anyone. I suppose you are only doing what you have observed." Anakin knew that he had to stop there. If he went any farther, he knew he ran the risk of being utterly kind or terribly mean.

Luke cleared his throat. If he started on the topic of his father's past, he knew he would regret where the conversation would go. "Leia is coming today, Father." Luke had given up years ago on his father actually telling him happy birthday. The wound was so scarred, he could not even feel as it ripped open and bled freely.

"Indeed she is," Anakin replied numbly. _Happy birthday, son, _his said silently. He told his son happy birthday every year, but Luke had never heard it. Anakin did not know why he couldn't form the words on his lips. Luke lifted his hand pulling the apple back into his power.

"Father," Luke addressed distantly as he twirled the apple, "I have never fought you." The observation hit Anakin oddly, and he subtly touched the lightsaber latched onto his waist.

"Yes," Anakin replied slowly, wanting his son to continue.

"Will you ever agree to?" Luke lifted his eyes from the apple. Why he had voiced the sudden flash of consciousness was unknown to him. A segment of him regretted he had said anything on the matter, but Luke was also pleased he had placed the thought in his father's head. He began to swirl the apple at a slower pace as he waited for his father's reply.

"My lord," Callum bowed from the entrance. Luke's heart fell at the sight of the small man. His usually kind dark eyes and hair was a momentary nuisance and he knew he would never get an answer from his father now. "Lady Leia has arrived… along with Empress Padme`." Luke's head perked up, and the apple fell to the floor. Anakin hadn't moved an inch, and Callum bowed once more before exiting the room.

"Never lose your concentration," Anakin told his son hoarsely, staring absently at the wall. Padme` was here.

"Father?" Luke questioned. His feet were begging him to run to his sister; to his mother. But his father's stare kept him in place.

"You may see them," Anakin said distantly, "if you wish." Luke wasted no time in responding, and dashed from the room. Lord Vader breathed deeply, levitating the apple again. The shiny red seemed to make him sick, and his body buzzed with a certain adrenaline only Padme` could conjure. Anakin was unsure if he could even face his wife; he didn't know what kind of person he would be. The light and dark within him tugged and pulled at his organs and limbs, and Anakin felt on the verge of collapse. Giving the apple one last twirl, he sent it flying into the wall with a smash and exited the room.

* * *

><p>"Leia," Luke greeted gleefully with a smile and ran to his sister. "Oh, I've missed you!" He exclaimed as he embraced his sister in a hug. The warmth of knowing his sister was beside him made Luke's usually tense body relax.<p>

"I've missed you too," Leia replied tightening the hug. Although seeing her brother made her giddy, she was always uneasy about his touch. Luke was so much like their father, and each year she saw him, Luke became more and more like Anakin. This year was no different. Letting each other go, the twins stared at each other.

"I hear mother is here as well. Where is she?" Luke's eyes darted back and forth, looking to Leia for answers.

"She is taking her time coming here," Leia replied. Looking around her father's office, Leia could not blame her mother for delaying the inevitable.

"Leia," Anakin greeted from the threshold. His voice was not numb, it was not overjoyed; it was simply there. A stagnant sound in the wind. Leia's heart shivered at her father's presence. She wanted to smack him and hug him all at the same time, but did neither. Walking with slow grace over to her father, she provided a light curtsey.

"Father," she greeted coldly. Father, son, and daughter all stared at each other in utter silence. The tension built up as no one chose to speak, and when Padme` entered the room, everyone took the time to let their pent up breath out. Luke's heart rate picked up, and he wished he could sprint to his mother. He could not even remember the last time her sacred form had entered this palace. Padme` could see her son's desire to run over to her, but she could also sense the conflict within Luke. Something kept him from coming to her- his father, perhaps. Whatever the reason, Padme` shoved it aside and ran over to her son. Embracing him strongly, it felt like heaven to have her baby boy in her arms once more. Whenever in the company of Luke, Padme` always felt as if she had her Ani back as well. Lifting her eyes up though, she saw Lord Vader looking upon them and her heart fell. Her husband's once vibrant blue eyes seemed to be fading to a gray, and the coldness that was forming in his heart on the night of Tatooine hadn't seemed to melt at all. Her heartbeat picked up rapidly though at the sight of Anakin. He was even more beautiful that the last time she had seen him those long seven years ago, and she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers through Anakin's hair; touch the scar that ran down his eye. As she looked at it, she saw that it stood an even bolder dark pink against his oddly pale skin. Inhaling deeply, she was brought back to reality by her son's scent. Breaking the hug, she held her son's shoulder's so she could examine him.

"Oh, Luke," she cooed, and embraced him once again. As Leia watched the reaction between mother and son, she could not help but feel bitter. Luke had already been chosen as the heir to the Empire; he had already been the chosen favorite of their father; she did not need her mother to be choosing him as well.

"Happy birthday, my precious Luke," Padme` whispered in Luke's ear breaking the hug again. A genuine smile formed on Luke's face, and Anakin felt his heart fall. In all of his life, he had never seen his son smile so brightly. It killed him that he could not provide the happiness to his son he wished he could.

Once there was no other distractions from Anakin, Padme` turned her attention to him. Hiding the shaky breath she inhaled, she set her features into a cold paralysis.

"Emperor Vader," Padme` bowed bitterly, lifting her caramel eyes up to her husband. In his stormy eyes Padme` could detect traces of her true husband, but they were soon replaced by the horrid monster Palpatine had created.

"Senator Amidala," Vader returned frighteningly colder. Brother and sister looked at each other hesitantly, unsure of what to do. It seemed as if the family had already been divided into teams: Anakin and Luke and Padme` and Leia. Yes, their birth had been on the day of a battle, and their sixteenth birthday would be on the day of a new war.

* * *

><p>So, I really wanted this to be longer; but when I got to the point I did, I figured it would be the smartest place to end. I promise you that most chapters will be longer (hopefully), it's just that my determination has wavering today. Again, I thank everyone who has been encouraging me on this story, and I hope that you never stop! To all of you in the United States, I pray your 911 has been full of reflection and some sense of pride for your country; the men and women who lost their lives those ten years ago will never be forgotten. Feel free to PM me with ideas for future chapters.

_Be good and review! _


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas's imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Let It Burn, Chapter 4_

Anakin didn't know what brought him to brooding in his office. He supposed that in the time that it had taken his heart and head to revive from the stab of seeing Padme after all of these years, he had wandered into his secluded room. Staring at the bland walls, he could not feel. His insides were a raging mess of violent fires as destructive and dangerous as the lava-filled Mustafar, but his exterior was coldly numb- making his body a dulled craze of untouchable feelings. Crossing his arms, it gave him the illusion that he was held together; a stony force to be reckoned with. Darth Vader had no looming emotions; no past to weigh him down; no inhibitions or doubts; no lost love. Anakin Skywalker though, contained all of these heavy faults, and he bore them with a grudging duty. Anakin could sense the same tumbling feelings and thoughts returning from when he had first decided to join the Dark Side. Nausea was a constant in his stressed stomach and clenched jaws became a habitual thing he had to relieve pressure from. The impact Padme and his children had Anakin was dangerous- it is what had brought him to the Dark Side; and which was now slowly taunting him to return to the Light. A part of him though, did not wish to return to the Light and the Jedi. If he did, Anakin would consider himself a failure. He had made a fateful choice- he would not turn back on it now.

"My Lord," General Vaison entered humbly with a bow. Staring at his master with clenched fists, he didn't know what had possessed him to seek out Vader. His feet stepping on the now precarious floor of his master's office, he knew he had doomed himself.

"What is it," Lord Vader bit out sharply. Although Vaison was his most trusted general, Anakin wanted nothing to do with him when he was deep in thought. That was one thing this new empire did not understand or accept- contemplation.

"My Lord," Vaison stated shakily once more, "there is a group of soldiers who- who believe they are being cheated." General Vaison averted his gaze from Vader's darkening eyes. He felt himself melting in his spot, and he did not know if he would leave this room alive. His master's temper was never an easy one to pinpoint.

"Cheated," Anakin replied in bitter monotony, "what do you mean by that." Stepping closer to his loyal general, Anakin could sense Vaison's courage flinch.

"They believe they should be able to learn your powers. If there truly will be a war, the soldiers want to be able to protect their empire and emperor to the best of their abilities." Vaison found himself shrinking quickly. Soon, he would be a speck of nothingness.

Anakin cackled darkly before replying. "Lies," he said in a harsh whisper. "Lies! General Vaison, do you agree with these soldiers?" Anakin inched closer.

"I- I see their point and understand it," Vaison replied timidly. When under scrutiny such as this, it was always smarter to speak as little as possible.

"Do. You. Agree. It is a simple yes or no, Vaison. This is not complicated." Anakin stared dryly at Vaison.

"Yes," the general whispered in defeat, "yes." Lifting his eyes, he faced his lord's stare.

"Then you are a fool. The Force is only meant for a specific type- _you _and your _soldiers _do not fit it." Vader paused. He knew he could not let Vaison go freely for what he did. "How dare you come to me, merely a servant to my empire, and demand a power which was not granted to you. My hands," he flexed them with a smirk, "have been yearning to kill today; yearning to suck the life away from an unfortunate soul. You would do stupendously." An evil smile creeped its way onto Lord Vader's face and he could feel the darkness rise in him. His blood seemed to turn thick and black as it coursed in his veins, and he knew the evil message it carried throughout his body.

"My Lord, forgive me. I am but a stupid- stupid servant." Vaison pleaded, hands lifting shakily into the air, as he inched closer to the door. Anakin mimicked his general's steps; not allowing him any relief- the threat of no mercy was very strong.

"Yes," Vader drawled, "you are indeed stupid. Stupid and proud; bold. You have been corrupted my dear general, and you know very well my policy on corruption."

"Lord Vader- please. I have seen the error in my ways. Allow me to live out the rest of my days in humility. I beg of you, my Lord." His heart was pounding in his head, and he could feel the sweat form on his skin.

"You want to learn the Force?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Lesson one: never cross your master." With that, he tore his lightsaber from his belt slashing the cowering Vaison in two. Watching the man's torso fall to the ground, Anakin felt a sickening shudder tingle throughout his body. Shrugging off the feeling, he ordered Callum's presence.

"Take and burn the body," Vader instructed numbly. Callum gave a shuddering bow and swept the body from the floor and exiting the room. Once alone, Anakin massaged his temples, closing his eyes. He was too distracted to even close the door to his office- in a moment, a mistake he would regret.

"What did he do?" Anakin turned to find Padme leaning in the doorway with a blank expression. He did not even want to know what thoughts ran through his wife's head.

"He crossed me," Anakin replied just as blandly, turning to face the opposite wall. He could not face her, he knew he would crumble.

"So that was reason to kill?" Padme sighed heavily. She knew the longer she stayed in Coruscant the more she would die inside. But something possessed her not to leave from her spot in the threshold.

"Yes," Anakin's simple reply came. How could she have expected any other answer?

"That is not the Anakin I know," Padme stated with a disappointed simplicity. She knew her reaction should be to scream and cry, asking what had possessed her husband to commit such an evil act, but that was the old Padme. Her new self knew killing was part of Lord Vader; it was a moot point to cry over.

"Anakin Skywalker is dead," Anakin replied harshly, still not facing Padme.

"Is he? Because I see him in this room." Padme pushed herself from the doorway, stepping cautiously into the room, arms crossed.

"A trick of the mind then, Senator," Anakin returned distantly, turning to face his wife. Blue eyes clashed with brown, but neither party could act on the fiery collision.

"_Or a truth of the heart," _Padme thought to herself. She knew the words would never pass her lips, but reciting them in her head lessened the blow of her husband's coldness. "A very cruel one at that. I of all people should know that Anakin Skywalker died many years ago; undeniably." Padme crossed her arms tighter around her small torso.

Anakin threw away his wife's words with a clearing of the throat. "Naboo has been treating you well, I presume?" Anakin became as detached as possible. Padme's heart plunged deep into her stomach. He was treating her as a political guest he had to entertain- a very inconvenient guest.

"It is untouched by the Empire's wrathful hand," Padme drawled in return.

"Ouch, Senator. A tad bitter, are we?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. The black and hateful blood still polluted his body, allowing him the evil coldness he had mastered and prided himself in for the past sixteen years.

"I will not have a battle of wits with you, Anakin."

"Then why are you in my office?" Anakin began to tap his foot lightly, just loud enough for the rhythmic sound to irk Padme's ears.

"I am taking Luke and Leia to dinner tonight; they deserve at least some acknowledgement for their birthday, would you not agree, Emperor?" Oh how Padme wished that Anakin would insist on attending as well. What she would give to experience one day with all four of them together in peace.

"My opinion will hold no significance in your already solid plan."

"Have you ever even told them 'happy birthday'?" Padme whispered. Once the words came flowing from her mouth she wished she could take them all back. This conversation would lead nowhere pleasant.

_No. _"You say it enough for the both of us," Anakin drawled in reply, brushing past his wife and exiting the room. Padme sighed, cracking her knuckles in thought. She knew she had to keep pestering Lord Vader if she ever wished to see her Ani return to her after all of these years. Flipping the curls that were eyes, she exited the room, head held high.

* * *

><p>"Mom says she's taking us to dinner tonight," Leia commented quietly as she and Luke sat in one of the many lounging rooms of the palace. Leia loathed the unwavering tension between them; twins should be almost one. She and Luke were certainly far from that norm.<p>

"Did she say if Father would be joining?" Luke questioned instinctively. As much as his father caused him strife, Luke felt oddly alone without Anakin's presence. Whether in conversation or in person, his father provided Luke with a certain comfort and strength no one else could offer.

"Does it matter?" Leia returned bitterly. She stared at her brother harshly. Luke Skywalker had changed more than Leia had feared. Soon he would be just as cold as their father; Luke would be a clone of Anakin- a reality Leia could not bear.

"I was simply asking," Luke replied simply. His sister's reply was a hit not only to their father, but to him. No one insulted Anakin Skywalker. Luke mentally froze when this thought came whizzing through his mind. Had he really just defended Anakin? Yes, he had. Luke realized then that he truly was loyal to Anakin. Maybe not yet to Lord Vader, but his father, Anakin Skywalker, he most certainly was devoted to.

"No," Leia answered dully, "I don't think he is coming." Leia's glared deepened. "There, happy?"

"What are you so touchy about today?" Luke almost sneered at his sister. He felt the darkness his father spoke of regularly build up inside him, and Luke began to internally shake. Emotions unknown to Luke filtered through his body, and he didn't know how to stop them. He could feel the Light sink into his depths, but there was no way he could save it. For right now, the darkness that had festered in Luke sprung to the surface. But somehow, he knew- or prayed- that the lustful darkness would ware off.

"What am I touchy about? Luke! You're becoming just like him! You promised me, promised mom, that you'd stay true to who you are. This darkness," she waved her finger over her brother, "is not you! You're allowing him to corrupt you."

"You don't know that! Maybe this is me! Maybe I'm more than just a one dimensional martyr with a strictly light core. Have you ever thought of that?" Luke paused for air. "I live with him, Leia," he continued more softly, "I'm bound to turn out something like him."

"But that's just it! You're not supposed to be like him. You're supposed to be kind, caring, loving, and merciful. You are supposed to be what Father deserted sixteen years ago." Leia's eyes moved frantically over her brother's face. She could feel the heat rising in her body; her heart pounding painfully loud, and the tension grow in her muscles. This could not be happening to her.

"I'm not supposed to be anything! I am _supposed_ to be me. When was it decided I was _supposed _to be anything but my father?" Luke stared at his sister. Not darkly, not lightly; simply blandly, and that killed Leia more than either of the extremes. The words "my father" haunted her thoughts painfully. Luke had implied that Anakin was only his father; Leia had lost him years ago.

"_You _decided that, Luke! _You_! You should have stayed on Naboo last time when Mom invited you to live with us. "Leia shook her head sadly. Happy birthday to her.

"And what, leave Father? I couldn't. He is so close, Leia, so close to becoming Anakin again." Luke's blue eyes pleaded with his sister's brown.

"You've been saying that for a long time now," Leia whispered. "I think all Father will ever be is close to a breakthrough. He's a lost cause."

"He's my father; he's never lost to me." Luke's stare became stony and dark. He would always be on the side of his father; no matter who it was on the opposing side- even his sister and mother.

* * *

><p>Okay, I am SO sorry it's taken me so long to update! School has been crazy. So, I do hope you enjoyed this. This chapter was mainly to display how Luke truly feels about his father… I hope that came across okay. Also, thanks so much to everyone who is supporting this story; you truly are too wonderful!<p>

_Be good and review! _


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas's imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Let It Burn, Chapter 5_

"You two ready for dinner?" Padme asked her children as she entered the room. Tapping her forearm lightly, she tried to forget about Anakin. It's not that she couldn't, because in all honesty her life and happiness was not defined by a man; but it's the fact that she didn't _want _to. Somehow, Anakin held the last part of her innocence, and she could never lose that… or him.

"Sure," Luke muttered, rising slowly from his seat next to his sister. The relief of standing up was overwhelming- the tension between him and Leia seemed to dwindle into silent memory. Leia gave a deep and heavy sigh, standing up as well. Brushing past her brother, she shoved him with her shoulder.

"I wish I was an only child," came Leia's dark mutter as she exited the room with a fiery anger Padme felt the burn of. Turning to her son, she asked with uneasy eyes,

"What happened here?" She watched as Luke simply shook his head slowly, giving no definite reply.

"Nothing did, Mother," he told Padme dryly, and walked past the senator as well. Padme was left stunned, standing in the doorway. Luke had never called her 'mother'; ever. The only parental figure he used the proper name with was Anakin, and that was only expected. But now, Luke's uncharacteristically dull voice echoed in her ears, the evil two syllable word of 'mother' uneasily hovering in her thoughts. Tapping the wall in thought, she walked from the room to follow her children to the shuttle. (x)

"What happened between you two?" Padme asked in all seriousness when they boarded, and neither sibling would step up and take the responsibility. "Silence is not an option- _tell me._" Padme felt herself glaring at her children, her level of mercy dropping.

"Just sibling bickering," Luke said with a flick of the wrist. The power he felt in dismissing the thought was exhilarating- he felt as if he had some authority over the situation. He understood why his father used this motion often. Leaning back in his seat, Luke crossed his arms, allowing his lungs to fill with satisfied air.

"Leia, what's your side of the story?" Even as she directed the question to her daughter, Padme felt herself staring coldly at her son. He had changed drastically since the last time she had seen him. As Leia watched, she felt her heart freeze; even when her mother acknowledged her, Luke was still the center of attention; she wished she was adopted.

"My side? Oh, you know: I say something, Luke fires back…. It's a pretty complicated thing," Leia returned blandly. What the hell did her mother mean, "her side"? When has her side of any story ever mattered? As much as the hate built inside her, she felt she could not reveal the truth to her mother. If Padme was to ever find out her son actually admired his father, Leia was sure Padme would fade to total darkness.

"You two are _so _stubborn," Padme said in defeat, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes tightly in thought. "Since it's your birthday," she told her children, "I'll let this go; but tomorrow, you two better have your answers."

Leia and Luke both nodded eagerly, letting out pent up air; at least they could agree on something.

* * *

><p>Anakin paced in his office, for the umpteenth time that day. What was wrong with him! Suddenly Padme is back in his life and he turns into the mushy mess of churning emotions he was sixteen years ago? Yes. Lord Vader took a deep breath, hoping it would restore his cold demeanor; no such luck. He did not need the world, and if he was honest with himself, it did not need him either. He pounded this logic into his brain until he was almost dizzy. Lord Vader was fine with silence; he enjoyed being left alone; the black and cold were golden. But Anakin Skywalker craved noise; he longed desperately for love; but he could never reach the paradise of the light. For too long Anakin had been on his own, with the oily scratched ideas and expectations of an old Sith Lord screaming violently in his ears. He needed peace, love- Obi-Wan.<p>

* * *

><p>"Anakin," Obi-Wan said in shock, as he turned to face the emperor. It had been years since Lord Vader had visited his cell, and he felt his neck begin to tingle at the memory of the last time they had spoken.<p>

"Obi-Wan," Anakin returned. His voice was simply there; no anger, no hate; no love, either. It just swayed in a stagnant wind.

"What brings you?" Obi-Wan crossed his arms.

"I want to pretend," Anakin returned in an almost childlike simplicity. He leaned his back against the white wall, his heart pounding heavily.

"I beg your pardon?" Obi-Wan clenched his forearms with his fingers, thankfully hidden under the veil of his brown cloak.

"I want to pretend that you are still my master, and I am still your padawan. It seems you are the only person I can turn to talk to." Though the words came out tight and almost awkward, it felt nice to say; a certain innocence of depending on others was returned to Anakin. Momentarily, Darth Sidious was tranquillized in Anakin's thoughts.

"Anakin, I- I do not know if I can," Obi-Wan said uneasily, his breathing beginning to pick up rapidly. This was a cruel torture, Obi-Wan thought.

"You are not very talented at role play, master," Anakin said with a chuckle. A genuine smile streaked across his face, and Obi-Wan then realized that his little Ani was being serious- he wanted to be a padawan once more.

"What is it you wish to speak of, Anakin?" He replied timidly, but warming to the kind illusion. Obi-Wan Kenobi found himself a comfortable spot on the floor, and waited for Anakin to join him.

"There is too much to even name," Skywalker returned, slowly making his way to his ex-master, and sitting a respective distance from him.

"Anakin, I have time and knowledge I am willing to give you- tell me." Kenobi gave him an encouraging smile, and nodded his head.

"When you have no one to turn to, you internalize everything; and it festers there, growing more and more poisonous the longer you let it sit. It's been this way for sixteen years. It's tiresome leading a life that means nothing to you." Anakin rubbed his face, waiting for Obi-Wan's reply.

"Nothing," Obi-Wan almost whispered, "how do you mean 'nothing'?" The older man stared at his former padawan with a new found feeling; a returned feeling. Anakin was still there- Obi-Wan felt it. After a sixteen year long absence, hope had finally returned.

"I've become something I never wanted to be. What is the point living a life you've never wanted?"

"You were rash- chose solely on momentary instinct. Palpatine knew that is what you would do. But he isn't here, now, Anakin. You can return to being _you_. Why do you fight that?" Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I fight it because I can never return to being the way I was before. I've experienced too much, lost too many, and acted too horridly to ever go back. I am not even sure if I can meet my old self half way. There is a certain power in being a dark and short fuse. The way I am now, people listen." Anakin tried to hide the smirk the edged onto his face. He knew if he wanted Obi-Wan's help, he'd need to be as peaceful as possible.

"Do they really listen? Or are they simple hearing out of fear? There is a difference. I know I would much rather be unknown and loved, than powerful and feared."

"That is where we have always differed, Obi-Wan," Anakin replied, the cold edging back into his voice. "You were always so noble; so just. You knew your place in the world, and accepted it. You kept a very definite line between good and evil, but that was also your weakness. Obi-Wan, you left in the dark the side of the force that could have made you invincible."

"Invincible," Obi-Wan chuckled darkly, "Anakin, no one can be all powerful.

"Hasn't stopped us from trying," Anakin returned, keeping a blasé tone to his voice.

"Stopped _you_, Anakin," Obi-Wan corrected. The elder paused and thought. "I wonder sometimes what would have happened if I had never left to fight Grievous."

"And what theories have you created?" Anakin's voice was a bitter bland. He had been old enough to make his own decisions. He did not need his master for that.

"If you only had had someone to talk to, like now. I could have shown you that you did not need Palpatine or his myths and propaganda." Obi-Wan shook his head. He wished desperately that he could change the past and all its mistakes.

"The Jedi had just as many myths and propaganda; all teachings do. There was nothing wrong with the path I chose- it's all in perspective. To you, it was a horrid loss and disappointment. For me, it was a new start; a chance to fill what had been empty for so long."

"And has this void been filled?" Obi-Wan could not stop the pain from entering his voice. Even after all he had done, there was still black pain Kenobi had been unable to mend.

"I have an empire," Anakin replied.

"But are you happy."

"I'm more powerful than I could have ever imagined."

"But do you have love."

"I have a magnificent palace constructed in my honor."

"You have only described tangible things to me, Anakin. Your internal void is far from filled." Obi-Wan longed to embrace the boy he had raised.

"It doesn't need to be. In the end, all I will be remembered for is the tangible influence I have brought to the galaxy. History will not care if I was happy or in love." Anakin crossed his arms tightly across his chest.

"I care. Luke and Leia care. Padme cares. We know you; we want you to succeed physically _and _emotionally. All the future will want to know is what you created and destroyed as a ruler, and what you gave them. _Selfish._"

"Obi-Wan," Anakin whispered, "it's not easy." He felt himself beginning to shiver slightly, and he knew he had to escape in some way. Obi-Wan was touching on truths Anakin did not wish to face.

"What isn't?" Kenobi cocked his head to the side.

"Life, everything." With that, Anakin shrugged and rose from his place on the innocent white ground. Staring at where he had just been sitting, that patch seemed darker; tainted with a certain evil- _his _evil.

"Running away has never done anyone any good," Obi-Wan warned in a distant voice. His heart seemed to harden at the truth of Anakin's departure. His little Ani would not be returning to him fully today.

"I never said I was running away," Anakin replied, turning on his heel and exiting the room before his ex-master could form a response.

When the door slammed shut with the power of Anakin's conflicted Force, Obi-Wan sighed. If Anakin kept on the path he was on, he would burn out way before his time was meant to come. Whether he knew it or not, the young Lord was slowly killing himself internally. The hope Obi-Wan had felt earlier was now suffocating in his throat, stabbing at his heart roughly. As he sat staring at the blank white wall, he wasn't sure if there was anything left to save in Anakin. But he knew there had to be. There must be.

* * *

><p>Okay, well, this is a <em>really <em>short chapter filled with- stuff. Haha, but hopefully you still enjoyed it! Soccer and school have been crazy, so that's why everything is so not normal with the length and description. To make up for it, next chapter will be long and have a lot of juicy plot! Hopefully I can post it this weekend, but if not, please keep with this story- I promise I will update.

_Be good and review! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas' imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Let It Burn, Chapter 6_

Padme paced in the hallway, unsure of how to approach Anakin. Speaking to him was hard enough; speaking about their children was a whole other burden. Breathing in deeply, she knew she just had to go to him, prepared to go head to head. Biting her lip momentarily, she walked up to Anakin's private office, and nodded to the guard to let her in. The man dressed in all black did as the Empress commanded, but internally could not wait for the inevitable fighting.

"Anakin," Padme greeted, walking to her husband's desk. Watching his eyes meet hers, she could see the spark of tenderness. Padme could sense the relaxation in Anakin's usually stone muscles. Her body cried for her to embrace her love, if only just once more, but Padme would not give in. She was here on strict business; to talk of their children. Padme reminded herself that she only kept ties with Anakin for the sake of their children… that partly killed her.

"You certainly do have a knack for appearing in the most inconvenient of times," Anakin drawled in return.

"You never minded in the past," Padme returned. What had she done? She did not mean to say that. Damn her feelings.

Anakin rose from his seat, now towering over the petite Padme. "What do you want, Senator? I have business to attend to, and if you only come to speak of dead times, _go_." In truth, Anakin could listen to Padme talk of the past forever. She could lay across his lap with a smile, laughing as she regaled him with their crazy adventures. And Anakin would twirl her curly hair around his finger, and he'd be happy. But it was a distant dream.

"I want to speak with you about Luke and Leia," Padme said, her sentimental emotions crumbling swiftly.

"Oh? And what might you want to talk about?" Anakin's voice was dry; he was toying with her.

"They're fighting," Padme replied. She cringed inwardly at her weak wording.

"Fighting," Anakin deadpanned, "I see no problem with that." Anakin turned away from her, beginning to pace the office.

"It's what they are fighting about that worries me."

"And what would that be, dear Senator?" Anakin turned on his heel to face his wife, and raised an eyebrow.

"They would not tell me; but I believe it has to do with you."

"Oh, but of course it would have something to do with me. Doesn't it always with you, Padme? I do not know what you want me to do about it. They are teenagers; they fight. It's healthy for them. Let it be."

"No, Anakin, I will not let it be." Padme knew she had snapped. "Luke becomes more like you each day. Do you understand how much that terrifies me?" Padme ran a hand over her forehead. She knew she was treading in dangerous waters.

"I haven't the slightest clue," Anakin drawled. In reality, the comment shattered him.

"I can't lose Luke. I will not. I managed to lose you, but not Luke; never Luke. Leia is too much like me. I fear that as well." Padme shook her head. "Anakin, our children are turning into everything they should not be; what are we to do? We're the cause for this."

"_Nothing_. We do nothing. Children work themselves out. If Luke and Leia are akin to us, so be it. You worry too much, Senator."

"And you do not worry enough, Emperor. They are our children. It is our duty to help them succeed."

"Luke will be the next emperor; is that success enough for you?" Anakin's eyes became ice; he was shutting her out.

"_Personal _success, Anakin. Luke is not a robot you can command. He is your son. Whether he likes it or not, he learns from you. Deep down you care; I know you do. Why do you insist on burying that? Who do you fear will chastise you?" Padme tried to keep from emotion flooding her features. She wished she could grasp Anakin's hands—bring them to her heart. Show Anakin Skywalker that the true him was still alive; that love was still alive.

"I do not _fear _anyone," Anakin bit out.

"Accept for yourself. Palpatine is dead. You made sure of that with your own saber. He has little influence over you now. But Darth Vader terrifies you. Anakin, you don't have to live in darkness. You've gained your power; is it all that you expected it to be?" Padme arched an eyebrow.

"Everything." Anakin's word was final; externally. On the inside, he was screaming. No, he did not love this power; not at the price it came at. Luke, Leia, Padme—all falling from his grasp.

"You lie. To me, and to yourself. Why can you not go back to being Ani? I loved him once…" _And I still do. _Padme bit her lip. She was bound to Anakin; not only in matrimony, but in faith. She would not give up.

"Then condemn yourself to bear feelings for a ghost." Anakin's exterior was painful. His sharp gaze and defiant chin stabbed at Padme's heart. Anakin thought: why could he not just be Ani once more? Stubbornness, paranoia… all the excuse masked the truth; even he did not know the true reason.

"A ghost," Padme whispered with a humorless laugh, "I suppose that is what you are. I will never understand why you choose to push away those who are meant to be closest to you." Padme paused. "When Luke turns into you, you have only yourself to blame. Trust me, Lord Vader; you are not so righteous when you are on the receiving end of your blows." Padme thought about leaving, but something kept her feet in place.

"I do not understand why you care."

"Because unlike you, I have not given up. You limit yourself by attempting to gain the world. You are losing your children. Leia is bitter of you; she scarcely sees you as a father. And Luke, Luke is devoted to you; yet you push him away. Your most loyal comrade is beginning to resent you. Do you honestly want that?" Padme was basically pleading with her husband at this point.

"Have I lost you?" Anakin couldn't help but ask. Ani was seeping through the cracks of Lord Vader. He felt his body begin to tingle, his stomach begin to tense.

Padme replied with nothing. She was too stunned by the question to respond. "I—Anakin… " Padme put a hand to her forehead.

"It is a simple question," Anakin replied coldly.

"And yet you have made it so difficult to answer." Padme was torn with what to say. In her core, she knew that Anakin had far from lost her. But in her immediate self, Anakin was swiftly losing his solid place in her heart. Why did loving Anakin have to be so difficult? It always had been, but this time, it was different. Padme was not sure she could handle it this time around.

* * *

><p>"Stop following me," Leia complained to her brother as she stomped down the corridor.<p>

"No, I won't. Look, we have to talk this out," Luke replied sharply, grabbing hold of Leia's forearm.

"For what! Can we not just agree to disagree? Luke, I am so tired of you being the center of everyone's world. Mother praises you like a god, father depends on and trusts you like a second in command. What am I? Nothing. Please, brother, do not try and be the better person in this scenario—you earn yourself no praise or title for mending jagged edges with your sister. So just let me go, and let this subject lie."

Luke loosened his grip on Leia, and she pulled her arm from his grasp. Just like that, Luke was left alone in the vacant hallway.

* * *

><p>So sorry I haven't updated in literally forever. My life has been so hectic. That explains the short chapter as well. As always, please give me any ideas or opinions you have in a review. It takes me a while to write these chapters; please take the extra few seconds to leave me a comment. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter despite its length!<p>

_Be good and review! _


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas' imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Let It Burn, Chapter 7_

Padme swiftly walked from Anakin's office before he had time to paralyze her with another question. Her heart burned, and she knew she could not look back. If she did, she knew all too well the broken features of the Anakin she once knew would be staring back at her. Padme wouldn't give into him. She couldn't. But god, did she want to. To hug him once more, with nothing but sheer love and genuine emotion. To not be such a guarded and jaded woman around him, and allow her defenses to drop. But Anakin wasn't there. Wasn't hers. She'd begun to accept the fact that he was dead. Never to return. But Lord Vader had such a deadly hold over her; he was beginning to make her believe Ani was still there.

_He's not. He never will be. Let it go. _

If only it was that simple. If only her heart didn't crave the love and attention from the only man she had ever loved. And tragically for her, the only man she probably ever would.

_Damn. _

Straightening her posture and extending her chin a bit more prominently, she knew she could not mourn. Could not brood. She'd be utterly silly if she did. Sixteen years, and she still could not get over that night on Tatooine. Not that anyone could blame her for it. The amount of emotional distress that came from a situation like that was perilous. To the mind, the body, and the heart. And the toll Anakin had taken on her that night, had crumbled all three of those. She'd been broken for so many years. Yet seeing him now, asking such questions as _'have I lost you?'_ opened up those wounds once more, pouring agonizing amounts of salt on her tender body. Why did he do this to her?

Why did she _let_ him do this to her?

She sighed, slowing her walk, and leaning up against the wall beside her. He was in her blood like poison. A poison she could never get out of her system.

_Damn it all. Damn him, damn these feelings; damn me. _

Her wounds would never heal. Not fully anyways. Not as long as Anakin still plagued her thoughts, and Luke and Leia evolved into mirror images of their father. She was trapped. Bounded to the man, husband, and friend she once knew.

She was being ridiculous. Padme Amidala did not have such emotions like this. She was a queen; a senator…

An empress.

She leaned her head on the white wall, just imaging all of the times Lord Vader must have lost his temper with the builders as they 'built it wrong' or 'painted it hideously'. It almost made her chuckle. A melancholy chuckle. That was what she was reduced to, and all he had asked was if he'd lost her forever.

Had he?

The short answer was no. And he'd probably never lose her. But what kind of person did that make her? Weak? Naïve? Tragically innocent?

What difference did it make? She knew that she'd never be the same. She'd never be able to go back to those warm days on Naboo when nothing truly mattered. When the world was kind. When she was a queen.

As she stood there limply, she was actually surprised Lord Vader had not followed her. She heard no shouts, no sounds of pain or pleads of mercy, no harsh footsteps on the stone floors.

It was silent.

Eerily so.

She breathed again, placing a clammy hand on the cool wall. It was oddly calming. Padme felt connected to Anakin somehow through this wall. She was utterly out of her mind. She was the definition of absurdity.

But it was true. There was something about this palace that was so akin to Anakin, it made Padme almost believe it was Ani who built the place—not Lord Vader.

The colors, though. They were so bleak. So dull. So uniform. So Vader.

Padme clenched her eyes shut, oddly enough that keeping the tears from falling.

'_Have I lost you?' _

Digging her knuckles into the white wall, she pushed herself from it, and continued down the hall. No destination, no care for who saw her so frazzled. She simply wanted to walk. It was the only clear thought in her head.

She watched as the bottom of her crimson dress dragged against the white stone floor, and almost wanted the color to seep into the dead ground. She wanted to bring life to this place.

Not even the inhabitance seemed alive. Not even her.

Her once radiant skin fell in pale ruins, as she stared at her arm as it wrapped slowly around her waist.

She'd been dead for a while, now.

Had she ever been truly alive?

Nausea slithered its way into the pit of her stomach, and she longed for the cold. Begged for winter to come again soon. She felt like she was burning. The inner head raged like a wildfire, and she began to notice the simmering and salty sweat forming on her brow.

She took her hand from her waist, the arm doing no good at all for her tortured stomach.

Padme wanted home.

Her straightened hair was beginning to curl at the bottom, due to the humidity which seemed to only be around her, and she sighed.

Could absolutely nothing go her way?

She turned the corner, exiting her secluded hallway, and into the hustle and bustle of the palace.

Her son was coming towards her. Frantically.

Body frozen, she waited for Luke to reach her.

"Mom," he panted, distress clearly in his voice. Her first thought was Anakin, What had he done to her boy?

"What," she began, tensions rising, "what's wrong?" She ran her eyes over Luke, looking for a wound. A cut, a bruise, a favored limb. He seemed perfectly intact…

"Leia," he said quietly, "she's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean, 'gone'?" Padme was about to melt into the stone floor. The walls around her seemed to be closing in on her. And god, how much Luke looked like Anakin, his eyes full of such emotion like that.

"I went to her room, so I could apologize," _again, _"but she wasn't there. I looked all over for her, but she—no one had seen her." Luke shook his head. It was all his fault. He'd tried to tell himself it wasn't, but he couldn't lie to himself. He knew what he'd done to Leia.

"Gods," Padme muttered touching her index and middle finger to her bottom lip, "you're sure Luke? Maybe there is someplace you have not looked yet." That had to be it. Her baby girl couldn't be gone. How would she survive? She bit the inside of her cheek, pushing a mess of hair back behind her ear. It caught on her earrings momentarily, and she silently cursed.

"I've looked everywhere, mom. She's nowhere." He ran a swift hand through his hair, feeling it dampen with the sweat of stress. What had he done?

The walls were pushing on her shoulders by now, and Padme tried her best to ignore the feeling. "Then, we'll find her," she returned confidently, pulling her son into her chest.

He was taller than her now. Almost to the height of his father. Their bodies felt so similar, and she had an overwhelming wave of homesickness crash upon her.

They'd have to tell Lord Vader. He'd have to find his daughter, out there in the dark realm of the Galactic Empire. Padme ran her tongue over her front few teeth, and pulled Luke in tighter to her. (x)

Wow, it's been literally forever. I can't even begin to tell you all how sorry I am. But I promise updates will be quicker again, and it'll be less than (how long has it been? Six months? God, you must all hate me by now!) it has been. So, if you don't entirely despise me, haha, please leave me a review. The plot is finally starting to pick up (yay!) and I'd love to know your thoughts! Sincerely, you're humble and incredibly sorry author, Jenny.

_Be good and review! _


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas' imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Let It Burn, Chapter 8 _

"You did this," Lord Vader sneered, pacing back and forth across a small stretch of the hallway. Luke dropped his head almost immediately, unable to keep his father's burning stare. He regretted already, telling the hotheaded emperor anything.

But how could he have not told him? Luke sighed deeply, and almost darkly, and could sense his mother moving her gaze between him and Vader. His body hardened with a certain ice he felt creep into the room.

"It was nothing that Luke did," Padme defended. His son looked up to her. Why was she protecting him like that? She hadn't the slightest clue what had transpired between him and Leia. He deserved his father's punishment.

His father knew. Knew what had happened.

Of course not truly by an eye witness account, but Luke knew that deep down, his father knew him. Very deep, maybe, but Anakin Skywalker knew him. Or, at least that's what Luke wanted to believe. In his own imagination, Anakin understood him. Lord Vader on the other hand, was an entirely different tune. One of screeching melancholy ballads, drowning anything resembling happiness.

Did that make Luke happiness, then?

He heard his father's sharp breath, and jolted himself out of his thoughts.

"Don't jump so quickly to defending him, senator," he answered icily, looking anywhere but to his son.

"He didn't force her outside of the palace walls," Padme commented, trying desperately to hold her stance. She was a parent who raised her children under the idea that they were innocent until proven guilty. Vader seemed to be the polar opposite. No surprise there, though.

She wondered: what would Anakin have been like as a father? She held back a nostalgic smile. He'd probably be the most kind, supportive, and loving father the twins could have asked for. No doubt he would have taken great influence from the way Obi-Wan had mentored him.

Obi-Wan.

He and Padme were the only two left who remembered the once brilliant Anakin Skywalker. She wasn't even sure if Lord Vader still remembered that man. Sixteen years without that side of him seeing the light of day, he was probably past dead by now. Barely even a ghost.

But at least a ghost was better than nothing at all.

"But we will find her," Padme continued with a little more strength in her voice. She fixed her eyes on Luke, now.

"No," Vader returned oily, "_I _will find her." He clutched the black material of his cloak tightly in his hands, feeling a wave of bitter cold plague his skin. His heart was a fiery mess, though. Yet it could not penetrate or melt the chill. He was tearing himself apart.

Slowly but surely, Anakin was destroying himself.

He looked sternly at his wife and son, not saying a word, and walked past them, towards what Luke guessed to be the Air Pad. Of course Vader would be flying.

_Anakin always had. _

The mother and son stared at Vader's dark retreating form, neither uttering even a heavy breath.

"It really was not your fault, Luke," Padme finally whispered, lifting her eyes from the floor, and to her son. The backdrop of the wall behind him as unnerving. The white walls seemed duller than usual. What little vibrancy could be found in the color was stripped—entirely. She set her gaze once more on Luke.

"You don't know that, mom," he replied. "I hurt her. I know I did." He shook his head. His mother should be screaming at him by now.

"You didn't tell her to run away," his mother supplied, a sad shadow of a smile touching her lips painfully. The walls seemed to be smirking at her. She wrapped her left hand around her right forearm.

"I might as well have," Luke said vacantly, with a shrug. Padme looked at her son: his shoulders seemed heavy. Heavier than usual.

"Shh," she said with a shake of her head,"no." Her voice was tender.

"What if father doesn't find her?" His voice was on the verge of blackness. The conflict of black and white was raging painfully within him, and explosion of gray seeming to burst from his eyes. Anakin had always been that way too.

_Like father, like son._

"If your father cannot find her, than no one can." Padme's words were intended to bring comfort. But both she and Luke fell into a tense silence once the meaning of those words finally hit them. What if Vader couldn't find her?

Luke breathed. He couldn't let his father search for Leia on his own. He wouldn't let him.

"Damn it all," muttered under his breath, and then looked up to Padme. "I'm going to find her," he said sternly, turning on his heel, and away from his mother.

By god, did he look like Anakin from the back.

Her son would be the death of her.

* * *

><p>"Callum," Luke greeted hastily, as he found the servant walking around the lower levels of the palace. The lanky man with the black hair and blue eyes looked down to Luke, startled.<p>

"My—my lord," he said with a deep bow, "is there something you desire?" A small smile began to pull at his lips. Luke had always liked Callum. He was genuine and kind, and had a temper as mild as a summer breeze on Naboo.

"I need you to follow my father's ship," Luke said, not bothering with the formalities. He didn't know how far gone Lord Vader was, but knowing the emperor, he'd probably be a significant distance away. Luke couldn't waste anymore time.

"Sire?" Callum began, puzzled, "I—I—Emperor Vader would not approve of this." His voice was timid. He began to wring his hands together, not wanting to disappoint the heir or the emperor himself. "The consequences, sire," Callum reminded in muffled fear.

"Nothing will happen to you, Callum," Luke returned quickly, "you were simply following my orders. If anyone is to get punished, it's me." He was used to that by now.

"That is what worries me, sire. If Lord Vader was to spot us—" Callum said weakly.

"Well you best be sure to stay a safe distance away then, huh?" Luke raised an eyebrow with a smirk, and headed towards the Air Pad.

* * *

><p>So wow—a update that didn't take six months! I'm getting better that this whole updating in a reasonable amount of time, haha. Also, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I'm still getting used to the whole "oh my god, the plot is actually starting to move along" thing. So my apologies, and I hope you enjoy! (Also, some AnakinLeia will be coming up really soon. Hopefully…) haha.

_Be good and review _


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas' imagination; I'm just here to play.

_Let It Burn, Chapter 9_

They weren't up very high yet, and Luke found himself already feeling nauseous. Though he loved Callum, the man wasn't too gifted in the art of flying. Not like Lord Vader; not like Anakin Skywalker. With his father, Luke always felt secure. Yes there were times he felt threatened, but he always found relief in the man. Maybe it was the notion that people feared the emperor more than they trusted their own valiance; but Luke knew it was more. It was the fact that despite everything his father did to scare away love, he still found it in his heart to welcome Luke; search for his daughter. He wasn't as heartless as he'd like people to believe. For the first time, Luke realized that. Amongst the clouds, and the soon to be visible stars, the young Skywalker finally understood why Obi-Wan had such faith in Vader: he was still Anakin. Luke licked his lips to keep the smile from forming on his face. He'd had his guard up for too long to simply accept the fact his father was not all bad. Deep down he knew it, but he felt if he smiled, it would be like he'd forgiven all. There was too much blackness to fully forgive; or even understand. As lost as he felt in the palace, Luke felt even more foreign in the sky. He breathed shakily.

"Have you found my father's ship yet?" Luke asked anxiously, wishing his mother or Obi-Wan were with him. Taking this sort of command scared him to pieces. Even though he'd been training all his life to become emperor, he was always uneasy with true power in his grasp. If only Callum wasn't such a follower…

"Not yet sire, no. But both vessels need to refuel soon, so we may reach his eminence's ship then." Callum's voice was distant, his eyes focusing more on the sky than on his words. It comforted Luke to know the dark haired man was at least taking this seriously.

"How do you know?" Luke asked, referring to how Callum knew the condition of his father's ship. It wasn't common knowledge to know the state of the emperor's private vessel.

"I- I have a friend in maintenance who mentioned it had been a while since the ships were fueled," Callum returned quietly as if he was under interrogation. Luke gave him a smile.

"You're not in any trouble, Callum, I was just asking. Is the nearest rest stop close?" By now Luke had returned to his seat beside Callum, the nauseous feeling dispersing. The stress though, was another thing entirely. What if he ran into his father at the rest stop? What then? What would become of him; of Callum? He shivered to guess.

"Another few miles, my lord." Luke watched as Callum's knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel. It was obvious the situation did not sit well with him. Whether it was the inexperience in flying, or the looming prospect of running into the emperor, Luke did not know. Either way, there was nothing calm about flying in the direction of Lord Vader.

"My lord," the servant asked quietly, "why is it you wanted to follow Emperor Vader?"

Luke shook his head in thought. "To be honest, I don't know. I figured if we both looked for Leia, then we'd have a better chance at finding her. But I think a part of me wanted to prove something; to all of them."

"All of them?"

"My father, my mother, Obi-Wan, Leia, the empire…" Luke raddled off. He hadn't realized it until he said it, but there was something he thought he had to prove. Strength, he had to show his father; chivalry, he had to show his mother; dedication, he had to assure Leia of; trustworthiness, he had to display to the empire. And Obi-Wan, dear Obi-Wan; what was it Luke had to prove to him? Everything.

"It's quite the burden," Callum said, taking his eyes from the sky momentarily to look at Luke, "but I have all the faith in the world in you." He and Luke had always had a sort of friendship, and right now, there was nothing else the young Skywalker was more appreciative of.

"Thank you Callum, that means a lot." A quiet silence fell between them now. A comfortable silence. Yet the demons in Luke's mind still prowled in the darkness.

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><p>The palace was lonely, with no Luke, no Leia; no Anakin…<p>

Padme rubbed her face tiredly, as she continued towards Obi-Wan's cell. She hadn't a clue what was driving her there, but she'd given up understanding a long time ago. To understand would mean to accept the empire, and all that it implied. She was not ready for that yet. Padme was not sure she'd ever be ready for it. She was a person of love, trust, relationships, and forever. To have all those torn from her, left in her this state of child-like denial. Gripping the bottom of a lock of hair, the once vibrant brown now felt like straw. She licked her lips as she made her way to the guards.

She didn't need to state her business, or request access to the cell. The guard, upon seeing who stood before him, quickly opened the door with a low bow. No questions asked. Lord Vader had certainly spared no expense for the training of his soldiers and their obedience.

Obi-Wan's back was turned to her, and he did not detect her presence like he'd done in times past. The room must be paralyzing the Force. Padme would not know, but she figured it was a precaution the emperor would take. Kenobi was a powerful, powerful man; even to an emperor.

"Obi-Wan," Padme greeted in timid pleasantry. She watched as Obi-Wan jumped slightly in shock. It was something she'd never seen the man do. It was a melancholy sight.

Turning around, Obi-Wan smiled. "Padme," he said almost dreamily, "how good to see you! It has been so long." Neither moved to embrace in a hug. Too many memories hung between them. Instead, Padme sat next to Obi-Wan, but not too close; never too close. Both smiled momentarily. It was almost like old times.

"I never thought I'd see the day you'd enter this palace," he said, "or this cell."

"I've been meaning to come," Padme began.

"You need not excuse your actions, Padme," Obi-Wan said calmingly. His tone was so much like the one Anakin had always used. That knowledgeable pride, blended with the harmony of a balanced personality. "What brings you down here?"

Padme sighed, wasting no time with peasantries. "Leia is missing, and Anakin went to find her; and then Luke followed suit." When she said it out loud, it was like a tidal wave of realization. The world around her was falling apart; and she was left in the palace, stagnantly waiting to see what happens next.

"I see," Obi-Wan returned, deeply in thought. "Why did you not go with them?"

Padme sighed. "Anakin is stubborn, and Luke is much like his father."

"That still does not mean you cannot go. For the sake of finding Leia, and mending ties with Anakin and Luke, I think you should go. You never know what may come of it."

"I couldn't leave Coruscant…" She knew that wasn't the reason. She didn't want to go for fear of what would happen. Being with Anakin in the palace was bad enough. But out in the galaxy, who knew what kind of man he would be; how she would react. Padme wanted her daughter back in her arms more than anything, but damn Anakin always left her paralyzed.

"I doubt your biggest fear is anarchy, Padme," Obi-Wan said calmly, and Padme knew he was right. She _had _to go; it wasn't even a debate anymore.

"Would you come with me?"

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><p>God, I really suck. It's been FOREVER since I've updated! I also really apologize for not furthering the plot much more. I love delving into personalities and such. I hope it hasn't taken too much from the story. As for updating sooner, I will try my best. And I know I don't deserve it, but I'd love your thoughts on this chapter and any suggestions you may have. I still love you all, haha!<p>

_Reviews are love!_


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